Instagram begins to roll out video ads

Photo-sharing app Instagram is posting 15-second advertisement videos to users’ feeds in much the same way it features sponsored images.

Ad Week reported the clips began appearing yesterday, following several months of testing.

Instagram has been hands-on in the production of the autoplay videos, working with companies such as Disney, Activision, Lancome and Banana Republic, to ensure the content fits the platform, rather than simply repackage ads run on different mediums.

Among the products to be featured are Disney’s upcoming animated movie Big Hero 6 and Activision’s latest entry in its popular first-person shooter series, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.

“Our audience is becoming increasingly mobile-centric, and Instagram is a mobile-centric platform,” said Jonathan Anastas, head of digital and social media at Activision. “So it’s an important part of the marketing mix.”

Anastas predicts Activision’s ad – which features an appearance from Friday Night Lights star Taylor Kitsch – will initially reach 2m users and help drive traffic to the company’s Facebook page. Advertisers can also target specific customers, beginning with the relatively straight forward demographics of age, gender and country of residence.

Below are four of the videos Instagram users may see appear in their feed.